Thursday, September 9, 2010

Today marked a giant leap in the fight against the sickos like the guy who took Chelsea and Ambers life. When I saw the news it brought back emotions from that day in March when the running community of San Diego got together to finish that run for Chelsea. I said it then and I say it now, I sure hope we never have to put on another run for that reason. But I say this that I still go out the door in the early morning and look to the sky and say Chelsea, This one's for you!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The picture above is just an image that I like to keep in mind. Scout is a very vocal dog. Not the kind of dog that Barks all that much. The kind of dog who howls at you when she has something to tell you. She has an I want to eat howl, a take me out howl, and her best is a "You Suck" Howl. Typically that one is saved for me when I've don't something wrong. Which is generally often.

This brings me to the 2010 goals.

Family - Essentially my goal was to spend more individual time with Marco and Mary, spend more together time with them and to keep taking care of my mother. Although I think I've had glimpses of greatness, I haven't been consistent in this world. We all feel it and it's something that needs drastic attention in 2011. Part of that but certainly not all of this is tied to travel away from home. I clearly spent way too much time on the road and I'm about to do that again. The only way I can curtail this is to keep convincing the parent company that I know what I'm doing and that it will take more bodies to be really effective. One body I'm confident is on the way. But Family is #1 and will always be #1. If I can keep the last 12 weeks in consistency I think I'll be headed in the right direction.

Financial - Done. On to the next goal.

Racing - Disaster. I've "raced" once this year. In fact it doesn't even count. Getting hit by a car in March didn't help. Going on the road for some crazy number of days doesn't help. All of it adds up to the heaviest I've ever been in my life. Although I'm getting some of that fit feeling back I'm still a disaster when it comes to putting it all together. I'm still not 100% convinced I'm going about it the right way.

So if I look at these goals in isolation I sucked. But we put goals out there to improve who we are. I've learned a great deal this past year. About what makes me happy and what I simply don't like. Some of that I've shared but much of it I've kept to myself. I might get fired if I shared everything. So it's on to the 2011 goals. By the middle of October they'll be in print on this blog.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

It is with some sadness that I write tonight. Jim MacLaren passed away this week. I first met Jim in 1988 at a Triathlon. I saw him again that same year at the Ironman World Championships where he redefined what an athlete was to me. He with one real leg and one prosthetic leg (before running advancements in prosthetic legs) raced the Ironman and finished in the top of his class. Not the top of the disabled class but he was up there in his age group. Heck he finished in the top 1/2 of the entire race. Click on his name and watch an emotional video of the man and his mark on history. He simply changed perceptions for himself and thousands who have followed.

This brings me to my deep thoughts. I've read two books in the last 2 weeks. Both were about men. Both were 99.9% void of women. Both had a topic that brings up the deep thoughts.

Running on Faith by Jason Lester - Jason's story is one of craziness. Like Jim he was faced with a disability caused by a moving vehicle. Their stories are stories of heart break and gut wrenching determination. Jason who can do amazing things without the use of his right arm credits all of his will and determination to God. His belief is that God has guided him (opened the door) to do the athletic events that he does.

The other book I read was War by Sebastian Junger - It's a page turner from cover to cover if you like this stuff. What struck me is that the main character (a real Soldier) has determined that God does not live in the Valley where this Army base is.

Two men are lucky to be alive. To that by one way or another they have seen "hell". One who feels God is the reason he's alive and on his path. One that feels God wasn't there to keep him alive in the first place and wasn't there when his friends were killed in front of his eyes.

I'm not questioning God or questioning the two lead characters. I'm simply showing you what I read and it does bring up some deep thoughts.

One thing for sure after reading both books. If I hear another athlete equate what they do or what they have done to a "Battlefield" I may throw their book out a window. Unless you've been there, on a real battlefield with real bullets you have no idea what it's like. And you have no right to equate what you do to that. It's not fair to the Soldiers and it's not fair to your readers.